Hey, it doesn't happen very often. After nine straight bowl defeats, the Irish sort of salvaged a mediocre, don't-let-it-happen-again season with a wipeout win in the Hawaii Bowl over Hawaii. OK, it was only Hawaii, but the victory allowed Notre Dame to finish 7-6 and put a smiley-face finish on another chaotic and disappointing season in which fourth-year Coach Charlie Weis nearly lost his job. The pressure is really on next season -- the "Win Nine in '09" campaign is not just a slogan, it's a mandate.
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There were more problems with the BCS, the Trojans slipped up (again) against a big Pac-10 underdog, Notre Dame and Michigan struggled, but in the end, the Gators enjoyed the big moment in Florida.
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9 Flail to the victors
There will definitely not be an "Ann Arbor Day" to celebrate Rich Rodriguez's first year as Michigan coach. The winningest program in college football history finished with nine losses, the most in school history, and missed a bowl game for the first time in 34 years. Michigan's 3-9 campaign marked the school's first losing season in 41 years. The Wolverines also lost a fifth straight game to archrival Ohio State, but other than that things went well.
10 Give 'em the ax!
It's not only Stanford's annual rallying cry against archrival California, it's also what a lot of athletic directors did to their head coaches this season. Among the coaches who lost their jobs or "resigned" included Tyrone Willingham (Washington), Tommy Bowden (Clemson), Phil Fulmer (Tennessee), Greg Robinson (Syracuse), Chuck Long (San Diego State), Sylvester Croom (Mississippi State), and Tommy Tuberville, forced out at Auburn despite averaging 8.5 wins for 10 seasons.
Tough (but lucrative!) business.
"You're a missed field goal from being a bum with everybody else," Florida Coach Meyer said.
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chris.dufresne@latimes.com
